Aproned mesas in Deuteronilus Mensae, Mars

Aproned mesas in Deuteronilus Mensae, Mars

In many places, Mars' northern lowlands are separated from its southern highlands by "fretted terrain," a landscape of steep cliffs and table mountains, or mesas. Here, in an area named Deuteronilus Mensae, which is considerably north of the equator, the mesas have strangely textured aprons at their feet. Many lines of evidence suggest that these aprons contain ice underneath the dust and rock visible at the surface. The image covers an area about 100 kilometers wide.

Source data was Level 4, meaning that it has all been reprojected onto the HRSC-derived DEM to remove geometric distortion. A composite of infrared, green, and blue channel color data was overlaid onto the higher-resolution nadir-channel image. At its full size the image has 25 meters per pixel. The original nadir data resolution was 12.5 meters per pixel, the color data 50 meters per pixel. The contrast has been stretched to enhance features.